LINK – ASHLAND UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE
The season has shifted to conference play, but the results remain the same.
Ashland University's women's basketball team, ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II, won its 2017-18 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener on Thursday (Nov. 30) night at Lake Superior State, 95-49. The Eagles are 7-0 overall and 1-0 in the GLIAC following their 44th consecutive victory, while the Lakers are 0-5, 0-1.
Ashland led 21-18 early in the second quarter, then extended that advantage to 13 points thanks to a 10-0 run. By halftime, the Eagles led the Lakers by a 40-28 count.
Scoring the first four points of the second half lifted Ashland to a 16-point lead, and with a little more than two minutes to go third quarter, the Eagles led 60-35 on the way to the win.
TEN TAKEAWAYS
1. Senior forward Laina Snyder led the way with 23 points, and senior forward Andi Daugherty poured in a season-high 16 points. Sophomore guards Renee Stimpert (13) and Jodi Johnson (11) also finished as double-digit scorers.
2. Thursday's win marked the sixth time in seven games this season in which at least four Eagles scored 10 or more points.
3. The Eagles hit 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) from the free-throw line against the Lakers. It is the sixth time in seven outings Ashland has made at least 76.5 percent from the charity stripe.
4. Ashland outscored LSSU in the second half, 55-21 - the Eagles' second-best second-half point total of the young season (56 vs. Notre Dame College), and their best second-half defensive effort in terms of points.
5. In the third quarter, Ashland allowed just seven points – three points lower than its previous best so far this season (10 points twice).
6. In addition to extending the third-longest winning streak in NCAA Division II women's basketball history, Ashland won its 41st straight game in the regular season, 27th consecutive game in the GLIAC regular season, its school-record 23rd straight game away from home, its 20th in a row in the regular season away from home and 13th straight away from home in the GLIAC regular season.
7. Eagles head coach Robyn Fralick has reached 75 career wins in just 77 games (.974). That winning percentage is the best for any head coach at any level of the NCAA in any sport, minimum of 75 games.
8. Ashland has played as the No. 1 team in the country 60 times, and has won 59 of those contests (.983).
9. This is Ashland's fourth 7-0 start in the last six seasons, and it is the third consecutive season the Eagles have won at least their first seven games.
10. The Eagles have defeated LSSU eight straight times, and Thursday's victory gives Ashland 11 straight wins in the state of Michigan, Fralick's home state.
UP NEXT
Saturday (Dec. 2) at 7 p.m. at Ferris State.
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